By Andrew McChesney, news editor, Adventist Review
Seventh-day Adventists impressed San Antonio’s mayor by providing $20 million in free healthcare to local residents in April, three months before the opening of the 2015 General Conference session.
The 65,000 Adventists who attended the July 2-11 session delighted local businesses by spending more than $40 million.
Now Adventists are surprising the staff at San Antonio’s airport, which is grappling with record waiting lines as session attendees fly home this week.
Brent Hardinge, a communication officer at the General Conference, said he was pulled aside by a United Airlines agent at the San Antonio International Airport on Sunday, the day after the session ended.
“Excuse me, sir, are you part of the large group here this week?” the agent asked, according to a post on Hardinge’s Facebook page.
When Hardinge confirmed that he was, the agent continued: “Can I share something with you? In the 16 years that I have worked at this airport, I have seen many groups come through here. We’ve had doctors groups, lawyer groups, all sorts of large groups coming through this airport. But I have never seen a group this calm and positive. I’ve been listening to my radio today, and the other agents are calm, and not stressed. The lines are long out front, and no one is complaining.
